My vicious dog, my horse, I can do whatever I want with it

Chapter 172 Triumph

"The general established these rules to teach them how to behave."

"I deeply agree with you. I blame myself for my dereliction of duty which led to the innocent woman's suicide. Please punish me, General." Long Feiguang lowered his head with an apologetic look on his face. He was always strict with his subordinates, but this time when he conquered Qing Kingdom, he was a little excited for a while and relaxed his discipline.

It is such a grand event that an entire country has surrendered to their iron hoofs.

From now on, their names will surely be included in the history books, and their ambitions and expectations over the years have been greatly satisfied.

Long Feiguang was also happy about this. It was during this moment of enjoyment that he briefly neglected discipline and allowed his brothers to go out and have fun. After all, he had been fighting in the army for so many years and finally had the chance to enjoy himself, so he lost his sense of proportion for a moment.

Zong Yanliduan looked at Long Feiguang who was kneeling for a long time and said, "I can fight for you whether you want money, women or power."

"You must do things that are honorable and aboveboard. I will not accept such unjust people under my command." Zong Yanli has her own persistence. She understands her brothers' desire to vent their desires, but she absolutely cannot tolerate them doing unjust things.

"I also know that there are countless heroes in the world, and none of them who gained fame and power did not have some dissolute behavior behind them." Zong Yanli continued, not to mention robbing women, there are many people who even steal other people's wives and forcibly occupy their daughters.

Zong Yanli stood up and looked at Long Feiguang and said, "General Long, women, children and young children cannot be bullied at will. They should be protected by us."

She lowered her eyes and said, "Women give birth to life, and children are newborns. The land that the dynasty we protect and the land that we fight for are closely related to them."

"I don't want to see this kind of thing again." Zong Yanli slightly turned aside and said, "Thirty military sticks, go down and receive the punishment."

Long Feiguang was filled with shame. He claimed to be a righteous man, but now he had caused his brothers to do such an unjust act. He felt really ashamed.

Long Feiguang volunteered to carry out the execution outside the tent, setting an example for everyone.

The soldiers in the army saw with their own eyes that Long Feiguang was stripped of his clothes and beaten with a stick. You should know that Long Feiguang was entrusted with important tasks by Zong Yanli several times, and he was even ordered to take over the military camp and temporarily lead the military affairs. It is not an exaggeration to say that he was the second in command.

Even so, if his soldiers made mistakes, the general would still beat them with his military stick.

At that moment, everyone was extremely alert. After Meng Qi, Kuang Xingquan and others went back, they summoned their soldiers and repeatedly ordered them not to do anything evil.

If anyone dares to do such things as robbing women, bullying the people, etc., there is only one outcome: beheading!

Under such military discipline and military law, no one dared to cause trouble. Even the soldiers who went to the brothel had to ask the girl a few more questions. Was it voluntary?

The celebration banquet remains the same, rewards are rewards and punishments are punishments.

After Long Feiguang was beaten with a stick, Zong Yanli still had someone carry him over during the national banquet. In front of all the soldiers, he commended the White Eagle Army for its military exploits, which were the highest among all the battalions. This showed that Long Feiguang was an excellent leader.

"When we return to Kyoto, I will ask the emperor for a reward for you." Zong Yanli smiled and then pointed to a few more people.

All those who were named by Zong Yanli, without exception, had outstanding performance in various battles. Maybe you just cut off the enemy's retreat, or rescued your brothers, or your archery skills were far beyond ordinary people.

Zong Yanli could notice these tiny details, and after rewarding the generals, he still remembered these unknown soldiers.

This really made the soldiers extremely excited. Perhaps the soldiers who were named had even forgotten that they had done this.

"The world is so big, there is more than just the Qing Kingdom." Zong Yanli stood on a high seat, raised the wine bowl in his hand and said, "Would you like to follow me and conquer the world?"

"We are willing to follow the general and conquer the world together!"

Faces were reflected under the bright bonfire, and their blazing eyes were looking at Zong Yanli who was drinking with his head tilted back. He was the general they respected the most, and the one who would follow them for the rest of their lives.

The aroma of roast suckling pig wafted through the air, and the brothers drank heartily. When they were having fun, they jumped out to wrestle, or drank and played finger-guessing games and laughed and joked.

There were also young guys eating with hearty meals, their mouths full of greasy food, or those arm in arm with each other, expressing their joy at returning home soon.

Several people in the dark raised their glasses to the sky and poured the wine in their bowls onto the ground to toast their brothers who died in the battle.

There are many different kinds of people, all of which are displayed here.

"General, why are you sitting alone? Come, come, come!" There were many soldiers around Zong Yanli who came to toast her. She drank two sips appropriately and then refused, saying that she was hungry and just sat aside to eat meat and drink soup.

"Why doesn't the general seem happy after conquering a country?" Zhan Haoyue was now increasingly unable to see through their great general.

"It's rare to see a general showing such joy." Gongsun Pu also said after a pause.

Zong Yanli, who became famous at a young age, has never been complacent or conceited. Defeat would not discourage her, and victory would not make her complacent. She always stood there calmly and soberly, looking at all of them, pushing them and pulling them forward.

Her beliefs and expectations are so clear: to defend her country and stick to her homeland.

Gongsun Pu sighed and said, "If the general didn't look so young, I would have suspected that he was an old general..."

Zhan Haoyue agreed with him, and Pei Liang beside him also joined the conversation and said, "Since I started following the general, our general has been like this."

Pei Liang looked at Zong Yanli who was sitting on the top, and thought of the first time he met Zong Yanli. So many years had passed in the blink of an eye. His eyes were full of admiration and smile. He pursed his lips and said, "It is a blessing for us to follow such a general."

Recalling the past seems like there are endless things to say.

Zong Yanli used the excuse of going to the bathroom to slip back into his own military tent.

"General?" Wen Nian followed closely. Zong Yanli took off his armor, raised his hand and rubbed his cheek and said, "Why are you following them if you don't want to go drink with them?"

"I want to accompany the general." Wen Nian stood in the tent, looking at her with his eyes slightly lowered.

Zong Yanli was stunned, as if she was stunned by Wen Nian's straightforward love words. She raised her eyebrows slightly and looked at Wen Nian, beckoning him to sit down and pour her some water.

Wen Nian sat down obediently. Zong Yanli looked at Wen Nian for a moment, then retracted his gaze and half-lying back on the chair, without making a sound to drive him away.

The atmosphere in the tent was peaceful and silent, though one could faintly hear the noisy sounds coming from outside the tent. Zong Yanli just leaned back in her chair with her eyes closed, while Wen Nian sat beside her and looked up at her. Seeing her slightly wrinkled brows, he couldn't help but want to reach out and smooth them over.

The imperial edict arrived shortly afterwards, ordering Zong Yanli to lead his army back to the country.

Even the heavy snow in winter could not stop the soldiers from returning home.

The heavy snow fell on the ground, covering the mountains and fields with white, as if washing the earth.

Zong Yanli led his troops back home, and after much haste, he finally returned triumphantly on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.

"The General of Pingxi has returned to the capital!" The good news had already spread throughout the capital of Wu State. Countless people cheered for it, and Zong Yanli's name became a household name.

The wind and snow were heavy, and Zong Yanli once again stepped into a familiar tavern.

She sat upright on the horse and saw a figure wrapped in a cotton coat waiting at the door of the tavern. Next to him stood a woman, holding her son and daughter's hands.

When the middle-aged man saw the army appearing in the wind and snow, he couldn't wait to take off the felt hat on his head and waved it at them. He hurriedly picked up a jar of wine from his feet, looking at the lion army but did not dare to approach.

He just took two steps forward, knelt in the snow, opened the jar of wine, and held it up from a distance to toast the majestic army.

"Let's keep going." Zong Yanli did not call for a stop. He ordered the team to continue moving forward, and he turned his horse's head and headed towards the tavern.

"Hey, someone is coming!" Everyone crowded in the tavern saw this scene.

Zong Yanli rode her horse closer and saw the flags of the tavern flying in the wind and snow, and saw Liuzi bowing to her. She was filled with admiration. When she conquered Nankang and returned home, she encountered a snowy storm here and stayed overnight.

Liuzi stood in front of him wrapped in a cotton coat, craning his neck to look at Zong Yanli, but he did not recognize that the person in front of him was the same person from that year.

"Fill me a pot of wine." Zong Yanli turned sideways and took off the wine bag behind him and threw it to Liuzi.

"Oh! Okay!" Liuzi quickly turned around to get the wine.

Zong Yanli dismounted and walked closer, and saw the little boy huddled behind the woman. The little boy who was still in swaddling clothes back then has grown up now. Standing next to him is a graceful young girl, who is looking at Zong Yanli shyly.

Liuzi came back with a wine bag full of wine and handed it to Zong Yanli. Zong Yanli reached out to take it and could feel the warmth through the wine bag.

It was obvious that the wine he filled for her was warmed fermented rice wine. Zong Yanli smiled and lowered his head to look at Liu Zi and said, "Why are you, the innkeeper, welcoming me here?"

"I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, General." Liuzi said a little embarrassedly, "Many years ago, two generals stayed in my store. I wonder if they have returned home after so many years of absence."

"I want to take them home." Liuzi didn't want to say anything bad, but he also knew that swords and spears were merciless on the battlefield. Regardless of life or death, he would offer this jar of wine to welcome them home.

Zong Yanli was deeply moved when he heard this. After a long silence, he reached out and took out some silver coins from his hand, handed them to Liu Zi and said, "They are back home now. Don't worry."

Liuzi was about to refuse the money, but was stunned when he heard Zong Yanli's words.

Then he saw Zong Yanli put the money into his hand and turned around to get back on the horse. The sight of Zong Yanli sitting high on the horse in the snow made Liuzi a little dazed. Then he heard her smile and say, "Take your wife and daughter back. Don't stay here in this cold weather."

"General." Wen Nian rode his horse over from a distance and called out loudly to Zong Yanli.

"Thank you." Zong Yanli thanked Liuzi for the last time, turned his horse around and left.

“General, General!” Liuzi ran two steps quickly, and when he saw Wen Nian, his eyes lit up instantly. He shouted with joy, “General, take care!”

"It's them, that's them!" Liuzi danced with joy, waving his felt hat vigorously, looking at the two people walking side by side, as if he had returned to the past.

As the snowstorm intensified, the woman behind Liuzi called out to him, "Master, was that general just now the two military masters?"

Liuzi retreated and escorted his wife and children back to the tavern. The cold wind made his cheeks red, but he couldn't hide the joy on his face. He said, "It can't be wrong! It must be!"

Although he could not recognize Zong Yanli in his iron army uniform and mask, he saw Wen Nian. After hearing Zong Yanli's last words, Liuzi was extremely happy and said, "I didn't expect that the two young soldiers are now generals. That's great, that's great..."

Liu Zi was delighted and murmured, "It's good to be back."

"Look how much you've been thinking about it. You haven't forgotten it after all these years." The woman next to him laughed at him.

"Alas, these soldiers are working so hard fighting outside." Liuzi said as he touched his youngest son's head and smiled.

"Old donkey! What did the general say to you just now?" Someone in the tavern was watching the excitement and said loudly: "Didn't you see it! That is the armor of our commander-in-chief, the famous General Pingxi!"

They had all traveled far and wide, so naturally there were some knowledgeable people who recognized the armor on Zong Yanli and came over immediately.

Liu Zi couldn't believe it when he heard it: "What great general?"

The man was quite excited. When he talked about the Pingxi General Zong Yanli, he praised him as being so powerful that he seemed like a natural-born god-like general!

"I thought you were putting on a show, but I didn't expect that this jar of wine of yours could actually make the general stop!" As this person said this, everyone in the tavern was in an uproar, and they all excitedly asked Liuzi how he knew the General Pingxi.

"What general? I don't recognize him. That general just came to ask for a glass of wine." Although Liuzi was extremely surprised and frightened, he said, "Maybe this General Pingxi is also a wine lover and was attracted by the aroma of my brew!"

"Haha! Stop flattering yourself!"

"Is that really the General Pingxi?"

"I do not know……"

Everyone was talking about it. Some said he was bragging and talking nonsense about the general's armor. They were just porters walking around the streets, so how would they know about the armor of a general? Maybe he was just bragging about how great he was.

Liuzi was somewhat bewildered and frightened. He could tell that Zong Yanli must be a general, but he didn't know what kind of general he was...

Zong Yanli didn't know what happened in the tavern. He just touched the warm wine bag and couldn't help but smile slightly. At this moment, he finally felt a kind of excitement of homesickness.

On the day the army entered the capital, the warm sun cast golden light all over the ground. Zong Yanli led his troops into the capital and was welcomed by the people of the capital lining the streets. The cheers and applause were louder and louder, and silk flowers from many women fluttered to the ground.

She just sat upright on the tall horse, and her brothers walked into the city with her, enjoying the glory that belonged only to them at this moment.

The ferocious ghost face added countless mysterious feelings to her, the black armor made her figure look even taller, and her dark eyes made people feel weak in the knees when they saw her sideways. How many women admired those heroes.

At this moment victory took on a distinct appearance.

The army marched along the streets of the capital all the way to the gate of the imperial palace. At this moment, the palace gate was opened and all the civil and military officials in the court were waiting in front of the palace gate for the triumphant return of the mighty army.